<p>Greek roots! “Y” is only a latin letter in imported words!</p>
<p>And i have to agree, this thread is rather homey. One of the best on CC, I’d vote.</p>
<p>From etymonline.com:</p>
<p>1615, from L. hystericus “of the womb,” from Gk. hysterikos “of the womb, suffering in the womb,” from hystera “womb” (see uterus). Originally defined as a neurotic condition peculiar to women and thought to be caused by a dysfunction of the uterus. Hysterics is 1727; hysteria, abstract noun, formed 1801. </p>
<p>Nerds and aspiring yalies alike, unite!</p>
<p>As my AP Euro teacher said, “Hysterics were whores with illegitimate devil children.” Loved his sayings so much.</p>
<p>Umm, EAD, I’m hoping for the same rematch and I, incidentally, haven’t stopped loving you passionately any less. So I guess I see how it is. </p>
<p>Kidding, I’m okay with you loaning out your love, especially in light of this extremely worthy cause 
</p>
<p>And I love this thread too, especially all the slight miscommunications, drama, arguments over latin roots, and feelings of Yale-hopeful camaraderie.</p>
<p>Does obsession know no bounds? I’m on the massachusetts turnpike driving home from Cleveland and I’m on CC… ostensibly to pass the time. (I am using my cellphone as a broadband modem for this laptop, though here in western mass there is no EVDO coverage ;( so we’re just doing 1xRTT which is good enough for foruming)</p>
<p>It’s impossible to stay away for long when you know that if you do for even a day you’ll miss pages of love triangles, dramatic confessions and lessons on the roots of words.</p>
<p>Well, I just knew about that word b/c it was one of the first roots I learned (no I don’t memorize them, I just pick them up)…it comes from the Greek for “womb” which I thought was hilarious, b/c obviously women are hysterical</p>
<p>It is an interesting way to pass the time. It’s probably the only place to be able to vent my Yale feelings of acceptance anxiety! CC has become one of my regular websites.</p>
<p>I’m still a little surprised at how busy CC has stayed over thanksgiving, though I guess I have no objective basis of comparison (server logs and such). Everyone from home / school has been joyfully using their time writing and revising college essays. I know that CC might be better prepared than most, but I’d expect that same mentality to lead people to compulsively edit any prewritten essays during this time… or maybe not? No idea. Personally I haven’t touched essays, I only looked to see what extra essays I have to write. Saddened by that discovery (many) I was too distraught to actually write them.</p>
<p>…Yeah.</p>
<p>Cozmo, I think I’m channeling my obsessive energy into this Yale process, which I think we all are really caught up in…otherwise I would indeed be compulsively editing prewritten essays. Well, maybe not. I’m not really the type to do that. Once I do the first draft of a piece of writing, I revise it like mad, and then when that’s done I never want to see it again.</p>
<p>I’ve just been copy/pasting my essays into each application. My essays have already been edited and edited again, so I’m pretty confident about them. I dislike the short essays that ask for a “short answer” and then give you a whole page when you print preview because your paragraph short answer doesn’t look like enough. I’ve been doing college apps all day today, but I hope that they will all be a waste of time come Dec. 15.</p>
<p>It won’t be too bad for most of them, since I’m looking at some fun creative questions. UChicago’s app will be a real treat, in that sense, though it will take some time. Some are just painfully dull, though. Can’t have it all, I guess.</p>
<p>I’d rather have the dull ones. They’re dull in that they’re open ended…but that just makes them easier to answer. The UChicago ones are just dumb in my opinion. I bet someone at UChicago is reading this right now and going REJECTED</p>
<p>bluetissues, I hope you got home safely… driving and checking CC on your phone simultaneously sounds a little adventurous!</p>
<p>I thought UChicago’s were especially open ended in that they offered and encouraged the creative freedom that they did… I mean, not as open ended as Yale supp (give us another essay!) but still totally open. Perception, I guess. How 'bout I trade you my dull ones and you trade me yours? Then we’ll both be happy.</p>
<p>I really enjoy writing, but I don’t think I can write another “What is your favorite word” essay. I am capable of writing a well-written essay on a serious topic, and will do so gladly, but I hate having my time wasted on essays that have no value. If you want to find out more about me, don’t ask me “If you were an automobile, what make and model would you be, and from what year? Why?,” but a question that asks me delve into an experience and discuss it.</p>
<p>Guys, what were your essay topics for both the Common Application and the Yale Supplement?? My first one was kind of creative and risky but my supplemental was more straightforward. My english teacher said collectively they showed that I have a “dual personality” and that I am a “versatile” person. Gotta love them english teachers!!!:)</p>
<p>common app: how life changed when my dad went to war
yale: cooking + being a halfie and what that meant</p>
<p>CA: trying to make the tennis team after playing soccer for 10 years
Yale: my terrible handwriting</p>
<p>My personal statement was risky. It was out there, it’s sort of a love or hate thing, it was an entended metaphor which tied in many life experiences. My supplement was basically a narrative short story of a summer experience–which allows the reader to know about me, and perhaps be impressed with my use of imagery.</p>